Speeches by Madders.

“Q Claire, you have said that a lot of the things in the Bill are things that you do already. Could you expand on why these are things that you have done already, above and beyond your legal requirements? Is it about improved worker wellbeing? Retention? Productivity? What are the benefits that you see from taking these…”

“Q Good morning, everyone. Like a number of other witnesses who have spoken, I think you are generally supportive of and positive about the impact of the Bill. Do you feel that it will help to raise standards across the board and create the level playing field that we are trying to achieve? Claire Costello: As an employ…”

“Q May I ask you, Margaret, for your views on how the fair work agency might help in the enforcement landscape? Margaret Beels: I took on this role in the expectation that there was going to be a single enforcement body, which the previous Government had referred to but did not bring about. I was strongly supportive of …”

“Professor Deakin, anything to add? Professor Deakin: Enforcement is really critical. We do not have an effective enforcement regime in this country. Recent research on the minimum wage, for example, shows that on the whole, employers that do not comply with it can actually save money by not doing so. They are rarely pu…”

“Q The shadow Minister was right: your response to the initial question was a comprehensive critique of the Bill. I will ask you a bit more about sexual harassment and the issues with preventing that and dealing with third-party harassment. Have you been concerned about that? Dr Stephenson: We have not done as much work…”

“Q Do you both feel that the Bill and the fair work agency in particular will help to protect people with protected characteristics at work? John Kirkpatrick: It is clear, Minister, that a number of people with protected characteristics are particularly vulnerable to the sorts of practice or exploitation that the fair w…”

“Q Could you give us some examples of the sorts of areas or issues that might benefit in that way? Margaret Beels: One of the things I found it hard to do was to assess the impact of the different bodies, because they all have their own governance arrangements. I have a statutory responsibility to decide whether more sh…”

“I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his welcome. I also welcome him; I think this is the first time we have appeared opposite each other. I will have to correct him. I am not actually the Minister responsible for small businesses, but his points are important. There is a range of economic levers within my portfol…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Information Sharing (Disclosure by the Registrar) Regulations 2024. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dame Siobhain. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 22 May and are part of a programme of statutory instruments that implement reforms u…”

“Q No, it is all very useful—thank you. Let me pick up on something you said earlier, Mick, though others can answer as well if they want. You talked about injunctive relief as a potential solution to the threat of fire and rehire. We are consulting at the moment on measures including interim relief as a potential actio…”

“Q Thank you, Ms Vaz. Good afternoon, everyone. Obviously we were all horrified at the way people were treated by P&O, and I think we share your critique that the previous Government’s response to that was not sufficient. Clearly, we are trying to address those issues in the Bill. Do you feel that it will be a good …”

“Q You have both talked a little about the statutory probation periods, and I think you are more or less in the same place as us on how long they should be, albeit there is a bit of argument either side. Based on that, can I take it you agree that, as a matter of principle, removing the qualification period for unfair d…”

“Q Good afternoon. I think you have generally been positive about the Bill, albeit with some caveats. How do you see the implementation of the Bill being of benefit to the businesses that you represent? Jamie Cater: To come back to the impact of things like statutory sick pay, I think that will help with productivity an…”

“Q That is helpful; thank you. I appreciate that we have not got much time, so I will ask just one more question, if that is all right, of Mr Carberry. Obviously your organisation prides itself on having members who absolutely comply with the standards set by law. Do you feel that the fair work agency will be a good veh…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to my membership of Unite and the GMB.”

“Q Mr Simpson, can I take you back to your traffic light? We will go to amber, because you mentioned the notice of shift as an issue in the amber section. I am aware from the UKHospitality workforce strategy that there is a general view that the hoteliers charter is a model of good practice, which does require reasonabl…”

“Q Thank you. I have a specific question for Cathryn, and the other two witnesses could also respond to it. First, though, I should say that the right to disconnect is not in the Bill. Cathryn, you spoke about surveys with your managers and about the strong support for the Bill, and you said that there is nothing in the…”

“Q Good morning, everyone. To pick up on the points you just raised, I reassure you that there will be continued dialogue before implementation. I have a more general question about what you see as the current weaknesses in the employment rights sphere. What do we need to do to give people more protection and security a…”

“Q As you are the one giving evidence, we are questioning you today. There will be plenty of time to go into detail. I want to touch on what you said about the process not being a good one. Is it about the level of engagement you are getting with Government officials? What is the issue? You mentioned that it has all bee…”

“Q I have some questions for Mr Hale. Previously, the Federation of Small Businesses supported the removal of the lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay, which is in the Bill. Do you support that today? David Hale: To go back to the previous question, what I hope you will support is the introduction of a statutory …”